The passing of the first May Bank Holiday means only one thing, the start of the international summer is nearly upon us. Suddenly only one round of County Championshipcricket remains for those with England aspirations to catch the selector’s eye – or for those hoping to keep their places to reinforce their own credentials.

England’s titans of seam bowling, James Anderson and Stuart Broad, face off against each other at Trent Bridge starting on Friday, where Nottinghamshire will be looking to keep their good run going. Both men are guaranteed their places in the Test side but Trevor Bayliss will be hoping they can bowl themselves into some form ahead of the first international of the summer.

A man less secure of his place in the Test set up has to be Hampshire’s James Vince. A controversial inclusion on the England winter tours, he averages only 26.14 so far this season – his predilection for getting out driving the ball very much still a feature – and might need a big score against Somerset to keep his international career rolling.

In a similar although perhaps slightly more leaky boat is Mark Stoneman, who has a top score of just 29 from six innings so far this season, a strong showing against England skipper Joe Root’s Yorkshire at The Oval this weekend is surely required if he is to remain an international opener much longer.

The ones to watch

If England’s merry-go-round at the top of the order is to continue, could Surrey’s Rory Burns be the next beneficiary? A consistent run scorer in recent seasons, his nearly nine-hour 193 against Worcestershire last week came at a good time, perhaps another ton this week might force the selectors’ hand. Another England hopeful playing in that game is Ben Foakes who has scarcely been out of this column this season. Already the fourth highest run scorer in Division One, he’ll be hoping for that really big score that makes him impossible to ignore.

Meanwhile at Trent Bridge, Jake Ball will be looking to upstage Messrs Anderson and Broad and bowl his way back into the England side. He could scarcely have done more on that front so far this season, leading the division’s wicket takers with 25 at an average of just 15.76.

The round up

Round four was one for fans of unlikely victories as Yorkshire beat Essex by 91 runs, despite being bowled out for just 50 in their first innings. A 44-ball half century from Jonny Bairstow and a maiden century from 19-year-old Harry Brook in Yorkshire’s vastly improved second innings set things up, before 6/40 from Steven Patterson grabbed the most unusual of wins.

In Division Two it was Durham who produced the extraordinary result of the round, beating Leicestershire by 46 runs, despite following on in their first innings. Aiden Markram helped lead the fightback with 94, finally scoring a run after ducks in his first three innings for the county, however it was James Weighell who was the hero, his 7/32 allowed Durham to successfully defend a target of 148 and complete a most remarkable comeback win.

Sun’s out, runs out

There was a runfest at Old Trafford as Somerset and Lancashire drew despite a late wobble from the visitors. Hundreds in the game came from Marcus Trescothick, who faces a spell on the sidelines after breaking a bone in his foot, and George Bartlett for Somerset, while for Lancashire Keaton Jennings gave the England selectors a nudge with one of his own and Dane Vilas notched a mighty 235*.

Surrey and Worcestershire produced a similarly run-heavy affair at The Oval, with an aforementioned 159 for Rory Burns as well as 157 for Worcestershire’s Joe Clarke – a man very much on England’s radar – while teenage off spinner Amar Virdi continued his impressive early season form with 6/105.

A century from Hashim Amla couldn’t prevent Hampshire losing to Nottinghamshire by 203 runs at Trent Bridge, with the home side’s three-pronged pace attack of Stuart Broad, Jake Ball and Harry Gurney, ably supported by Samit Patel, proving too hot to handle – while a captain’s knock of 130 from Steven Mullaney provided the backbone on the runs side.

Division Two up for grabs

After the shock of relegation last campaign, most people expected Middlesex to bounce back up straight away, but life in the second tier has started trickily for the north Londoners, who suffered their second defeat from four games, losing to Sussex by three wickets. Top order runs have been something of a problem for Middlesex up until now this season, but Nick Gubbins and Dawid Malan managed centuries in their second innings, however it wasn’t enough to avoid defeat as Sussex skipper Ben Brown led from the front, scoring 65* to seal a tight win.

Warwickshire meanwhile maintained their place at the top of the table with a comfortable eight-wicket win over Derbyshire. In the week he announced he would retire at the end of the season, Jonathan Trott scored 111 runs across both innings, while Jeetan Patel’s 6/76 proved the key component to the win.

Matt Henry has been a superb overseas signing for Kent so far this season, leading the county wicket taking standings with 27 at a scarcely believable average of 8.62. He was on form again in Cardiff, as Kent beat Glamorgan by six wickets, his match figures of 8/90 helping set up a comfortable win inside three days.

The final word

While 42-year-old Marcus Trescothick notched his 65th first class century against Lancashire this round, his 20-year-old Somerset teammate George Bartlett managed to register his first – Trescothick’s first came in 1994, four years before Bartlett was even born.

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